There is a real buzz about Early College High School’s Spelling Bee Team. On Sept. 27, they took first place at the 25th Great Killer Bee hosted by the Harlingen Literacy Center of Harlingen.

Team members, Alyssa Davila, Aaron Vidaurri, and David Travis, met every two weeks on campus to hone their spelling skills in preparation for the annual event.

Their winning word? Sauerbraten.

“S-A-U-E-R-B-R-A-T-E-N,” said David Travis. “It’s a German pot roast.”

The team, sponsored by Lone Star Bank, took on contenders like the Harlingen Rotary Club and the Lions Club, and it was all for a good cause – to help raise funds to benefit the Literacy Center.

“We are more proud than anything, to be honest. I really believe that it was a team effort,” said Vidaurri. “We looked at our words over and over again to develop that muscle memory. There were times that we helped catch each other’s mistakes.”

The Literacy Center of Harlingen is a non-profit organization established in 1986 dedicated to helping adults across the Harlingen and surrounding areas reach their full potential by enabling them to acquire the listening, speaking, reading, writing, and basic math skills they need to help themselves in their daily lives.